War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (ret.) (1 Viewer)

[littlewing69]

http://thinkprogress.org/col-sam-gardiner-on-cnn-91806/



Discuss.

 

[Testpilot]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

Well, we all saw war coming as the Iranians flirted with the US's 'line' for nuclear weapons. Whether they have them or not is another question.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5358486.stm

Could be a bad idea.

 

[HotShot]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5358486.stm

Could be a bad idea.

if an attack does occur, i think israel will be the leading force. but i dont it will happen anytime soon, not until iraq is fully under american control.

 

[littlewing69]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

if an attack does occur, i think israel will be the leading force. but i dont it will happen anytime soon, not until iraq is fully under american control.

I doubt American control will ever significantly increase its current level. I could see an American argument for war being 'stopping Iranian-sponsored violence in Iraq' as a sort of Cambodia/Laos to Iraq's Vietnam, though.

 

[HotShot]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

I doubt American control will ever significantly increase its current level. I could see an American argument for war being 'stopping Iranian-sponsored violence in Iraq' as a sort of Cambodia/Laos to Iraq's Vietnam, though.

they will need to if they want to invade Iran.

 

[littlewing69]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

they will need to if they want to invade Iran.

This US administration scares me...

 

[Iron]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

They couldnt invade if they wanted to. Some people here are slow on the up-take re what Iraq has done to America.

 

[banco55]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

if an attack does occur, i think israel will be the leading force. but i dont it will happen anytime soon, not until iraq is fully under american control.

Israel simply doesn't have the military capability to do it. The US is the only country in the world that could launch an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities that would have any chance of sucess.

 

[HotShot]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

They couldnt invade if they wanted to. Some people here are slow on the up-take re what Iraq has done to America.

with israel assistance they could quite easily.

 

[Iron]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

with israel assistance they could quite easily.

I dont think so Tim

 

[bshoc]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

I dont think so Tim

What exactly has Iraq done to America? 3000 dead soldiers, thats not even a day of WWII.

I hope Iran gets bombed into the stoneage, and that the only boots on the ground are in-and-out SF units, should be conducted with absolute devastation from the air, like Desert Storm.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

Not in terms of casualties, but rather that the US is now in massive amounts of debt.

 

[littlewing69]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

They couldnt invade if they wanted to. Some people here are slow on the up-take re what Iraq has done to America.

Definitely, and obviously any invasion of Iran would be an absolutely daft decision--but I would suggest that the Bush government isn't known for its common sense. America can certainly still field more of its military, but this does give them a 'guns or butter' dilemma.

I'd say the main factor holding back any American action is public unwillingness to accept casualties in foreign wars, as well as economic repercussions which would similarly piss off an already adequately pissed-off population.

 

[littlewing69]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

I hope Iran gets bombed into the stoneage, and that the only boots on the ground are in-and-out SF units, should be conducted with absolute devastation from the air, like Desert Storm.

Yay war!

 

[Serius]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

you people are kidding yourselves if you think america would have any difficulty taking down Iran. Do understand how powerful their military is? if the rest of the world declared war against america[assuming nukes arent used] they would still win.

and please, dont underestimate Israel, they have one of the most modern armies in the world and their whole military is comprised of veterans, they could take down most countries if they needed to.

 

[Raginsheep]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

To win any war, despite the technological advantages America possesses, it still needs boots on the ground. The fact is, America doesn't have the numbers required to mount a successful invasion of Iran and continue its current commitments elsewhere short of a reintroduction of a general draft.

As for Israel and its military superiority, while I agree that this may be true in conventional warfare, its not as effective against asymmetric warfare which an invasion of Iran would almost certainly degenerate to ala Iraq.

 

[bshoc]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

Currently, there are 499,000 active duty Army troops, backed up by 700,000 National Guard and Army reservists.

Current deployment:

Iraq - 130000
Afghanistan - 9000
Bosnia - 3000
S.Korea - 37000

In any case the point would be to demolish Iran's military, nuclear and governmental capacity from the air, which the US can easily do when there are viable targets to hit (ie. desert storm as opposed to insurgents hiding among civilians).

edit: also 150000 marines and a few thousand SF.

 

[Iron]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

Any invasion of any country wont be on the cards for a long, long time.
Iraq was a terrible, terrible mistake based on misinformation and a flawed doctrine.
Presently, the US cant field the amount of soldiers needed in Iraq. They have never been able to. They are at breaking point trying to contain the situation.

That whole Hurrican in New Orleans thing? They didnt have the resources to deal with. They're tied up overseas.

The only military solution for Iran involves extensive mass-bombings on accurate locations over several weeks.

 

[littlewing69]

Re: War with Iran close, and US forces likely already on the ground- USAF Colonel (re

To win any war, despite the technological advantages America possesses, it still needs boots on the ground. The fact is, America doesn't have the numbers required to mount a successful invasion of Iran and continue its current commitments elsewhere short of a reintroduction of a general draft.

There are presently 145,000 American military (all branches) personnel in Iraq. The US Army alone has 400,000 + active duty personnel, 300,000+ in the National Guard, and 200,000+ in the Reserves.

Counting all branches, there are 1.4 million American military servicemen and women active at present, with 800,000+ more in Guards and Reserves.

This isn't a numbers issue so much as a matter of political mandate and cost.

As for Israel and its military superiority, while I agree that this may be true in conventional warfare, its not as effective against asymmetric warfare which an invasion of Iran would almost certainly degenerate to ala Iraq.

The Israeli military is probably the best in the world at asymmetric warfare, as that's what they constantly face.